Eugene weekly., June 23, 2005, Page 13, Image 13

WHAT’S
happening
June’s Last Friday ArtWalk, with nearly two dozen par-
ticipating venues, offers much to see and do throughout
downtown and the Whiteaker neighborhood this weekend.
Stop by the Jawbreaker Gallery for a Garden Tea Party
with Halo, Elise Randles and the Mad Hatters, or the
Firehouse Studio, for work by Matthew Farell and Mikey
Straub, and firedancers after dark. Moon Ray Imaging
shows Eastern Oregon’s Steens Mountain through the lens
of photographer John Meyers. Sixseventyseven shows
paintings (pictured left) and ceramics by Barbara Howell
Cooper. See Friday Calendar. Pick up a map around town
for details or go to www.lastfridayartwalk.org
Victims of torture, trauma, and political violence are liv-
ing right here in Eugene and, with the help of a locally
based organization, making a new life for themselves.
Siempre Amigos, an organization affiliated with the
OHSU’s Intercultural Psychiatric Program (IPP), has
been helping victims of torture from Central and South
America with a variety of services since its founding in
1977. A bilingual and bicultural mental health program
dedicated to helping survivors of torture, Siempre
Amigos will host a dinner to commemorate the U.N.
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on
June 26. Punctuated by discussion from a panel of local
experts who will speak on the legal, clinical, and histori-
cal implications of torture, the event will be held from
5:30 to 8:30 pm at the World Café at 449 Blair Blvd.
Dinner is $10 but admission is free, and donations will
be accepted. Live music will be provided. Ruth Vargas-
Forman, Clinical Program Supervisor at Siempre
Amigos, said she hopes the local event will raise aware-
ness of the consequences of torture, as well as gener-
ate support for victims of torture in the community.
Siempre Amigos, in partnership with OHSU’s
Intercultural Psychiatric Program, has helped more than
100 people who have fled from more than 10 countries
in Central and South America. — Emily Freeman
The Oregon Bach Festival kicks off this week with
La Pasión Según San Marcos . Commissioned
in the spirit of the pieces Bach wrote on the
gospels of Matthew and John, composer Osvaldo
Golijov brings a modern vibrancy to the story of
St. Mark. Featuring Venezuelan conductor Maria
Guinand, Brazilian jazz singer Luciana Souza and
the Schola Cantorum choir of Caracas, the
Passion according to St. Mark comes to life with
Latin dance, bossa nova and flamenco, “a brassy,
percussive parade of sensory images, ritual
dances, and heart stirring vocals.” The Hult
Center hosts the performance Thursday and
Friday, with a reception following at the Eugene
Hilton. See Calendar.
JUNE 23, 2005 13